the giving tree

for the first time, i had an opportunity to do some real voluntary work. was on duty a couple of days back at the giving tree volunteers' fair at tampines. i had no idea what was in stored for us until i actually reached there. in front of me was this really MASSIVE pile of soft toys waiting to be sorted out and packed. and it didnt stop there. many more continued coming to donate their stuff toys to us. and then i realised my job was to sort out of the toys and not presentation on the booth as i thought it would be. a simple and easy job quick became tiring and dull as the pile never seemed to lessened. from poohs to hello kittys, you name it, we had it. wah, i've never seen that many stuffed toy before in my entire life.

the toys were basically for the children victims of the tsunami, and it was important we sorted out the toys properly according to their condition and material so that the children will only recieve the good stuff and not make them feel worthless by giving them the dirtied and spoilt ones too. so there i was being santa's worker, inspecting every toy before it goes into the right bag. thoughts ran through my tired mind as i asked myself was it really worth my valuable time that i could have spent on a good rest instead, doing such work and not getting anything in return?

well, it was a yes. and in fact, isn't going down for trainings and teaching the cadets all considered voluntary work too? afterall, we dont get anything in return, except in hope that we'll be able to see our young ones growing and excelling in the right path of life. though i do have many limitations, i was glad to know my little efforts, in this case packing the toys, could mean a huge blessing to others. eventually with a little over-time, the three of us there did managed to get the pile sorted out and packed. PHEW, it was a big achievement alright. it felt good to see the pleasant side of singaporeans for a change, as compared to those you see running when the mrt approaches, budgging their way through the opened mrt door and literally rushing in for a seat. sad huh. there were quite a number that actually bought these brand new toys just to donate them. what nice people haha =) so, as the slogan goes, ' it doesnt take much effort to be a volunteer, just do what you normally do!' =) ah hah! the giving tree ends only on the 31st dec. so do bring down your stuffed toys if you wish to have them donated!

chill!

the time of the year

wines, feasting, carolings and much time spent time with loved ones... was just to sum up this merry little Christmas of mine. its such a big difference of how the materialistic world and the church potrays Christmas to be. seeing the beautiful lights and deco along town no doubt gets us all hyped up in the mood to just spend more money. who can really resist especially when theres a Christmas sale going on almost everywhere? well, not to say that is wrong. but seriously how many of us actually do take this time to reflect and think about the true meaning of Christmas? that of Christ's presence coming into our little hearts and for us to share this love with those around us. i guessed Christmas only became meaningful and fulfilling to me when i decided to give and share unselfishly.

the fmssrcy Christmas cum seniors' reunion held at sentosa last friday that we planned for so long and sacrificed much of our personal time resulted in a sweet success. the committee must agree with me when i say that though it was tiring planning and doing the marketing, we all had a great time crapping around, laughing, catching up with stuff that we missed since the start of VIP, and of course just having simple clean fun together! indeed God was watching over us the whole while and answering our prayers when the weather didnt seem to good on the day itself. yeah, we all know it poured extremely heavily some time after we left the place, turning out to be exactly what poh huat sir told us the evening before. the food was sufficient, the attendence was rather good, the weather was just perfect, everyone had a great time, so what more can i say? PRAISE GOD! =) Christmas eve's dinner that evening was spent at a relative's place. roasted turkey, ham, chicken, duck, were just some of the food laid out on the table. after that meal i promised myself to eat only salad and vegetables for the next one week. hahaha. a pity i was too tired to attend the midnight Christmas mass at holy cross, but nonetheless the morning mass with my family at st francis the next day was equally good. that night was another bbq dinner. the THIRD one in two weeks. hahaha, thanks to VIP i was forced in learning to start up a bbq fire in just 15mins. useful skill you know =).

ok, so now my throat's feeling a little sore from all the bbq and my mom has already stocked up the fridge with lotsa lettuce for the family. my house has turned into a refugee camp with my relatives from shanghai staying over. haha rather messy place, but gives the feeling of a warm and cosy home. joanne and i will be down at tampines mall for duty at the volunteers exhibition fair. so do come and give us your support if you have nothing better to do! hahas. Christmas last for 12 days if you don't know. so well, do have a happy Christmas and a blessed year ahead! =)

God bless!

finally home

its been some time since the last entry and, well for a start the KL trip was good, thinking about the fact i stayed away from any form of work that couple of days and had a good rest. didn't do much shopping there as the prices of stuff weren't very much different from here. instead, it was clubbing and pubbing every night. quite an effort getting the first bottle down my throat, but after that, the rest wasn't a problem haha. first time experience lah, so what much can i say about it. it was fun though.

anyways, back to reality... returned from the vi camp yesterday and til now my whole body's still aching away badly. the rescue mission at ubin on day2 was physically torturing while being the I/C on day3 was mentally challenging. but hey, we managed to overcome and survived through it. and thats just a small part of what each of us brought home with us. though it was tough, no doubt was it great fun! having the jokers around sure added much fun and laughter into the camp til a point many described the camp as a 'chalet' haha. much of the activities gave us opportunity to forge closer bonds with one another. and so, the statement 'people only bond when they suffer together', proves to be true. there were times however, that got me very disappointed with myself and my fellow fairsians. but nonetheless, we're all still learning and i wish the best for us all. now that the camp has ended and most of us will be on the way to becoming full pledged VIs, its hard to decide on a unit to attach ourselves to. fairfield or tk? hmmm... camp report and fdcom proposal needs to be up soon! urgh, not forgetting christmas is just afew days away...

leaving for KL

VIP has started and im only going to get busier and busier as the camp draws nearer. yesterday's first contact session went rather well. but it felt even better to once again be able to meet and catch up with my ULP batchmates of 04/02 :)

anyways, my lucky parents left for Rome yesterday with their free airtickets! guess they'll be enjoying themselves there for sometime as i heard my mom saying she always wanted to visit Europe before she gets old and have trouble walking. hahas. i'll be in Rome with them now if not for VIP... but oh wells. my bro and i are taking a short trip to KL tomorrow and will only be back on thursday. nothing much in mind, except to visit our dear relatives and do some christmas shopping (if i can find anything cheap there of course. hehe) so yeah, if theres anything important you can still reach me on my mobile. take care!

and oh, vip charlie mates... thanks for helping out with my workload, i owe you guys one :)

chill.